Changing the Course of Time
by apocalypseWallflower
Summary: Harry Potter was supposed to be the savior. Harry can't take that weight.. So, he runs away from his problems, literally. Ending up in a time long before his or his parents birth, he meets Tom Riddle. Tomarry/Harrymort
1. Chapter 1: Time Turner Madness

**~Harry~**

Harry Potter stood, pacing back and forth, in his room within Gryffindor tower. He was just told by Dumbledore that he's supposed to be the savior of the wizarding world and has to kill a man. It was too much for him, so he did the only thing he could, he wished his life was different. So very different. Now, normally wishes don't come true for most, but when you're a powerful wizard like Harry and deeply want this wish to come true, it just might.

There was a light, it was bright. And after the light was gone, left there was a time-turner. Harry had read about them when he first got his things from Diagon Ally. He knew how to use them and the limitations on how far back they could go. He quickly picked up the time-turner, not thinking of any consequences to what he was doing and went back, far back. Before he or his parents were born. Little did he know, he ended up going back to when Tom Marvolo Riddle Jr was almost 12, just about to start his 2nd year at Hogwarts the next school year.

Once Harry had landed and gained his barrings, he snuck out of the now empty room he was in and went to the common room. He then went through the portrait and realized that all the students were leaving school. He quickly hopped on the train, and made sure he wasn't noticeable. Luckily for him, he went so far back that like everyone else he finally blended in the wizard world. No one asked him questions or even noticed him. Once the train dropped everyone and himself at King's Cross, he started on his way to the Leaky Cauldron. He'd need to figure out what year it was and somehow come up with an identity.

He entered the Leaky Cauldron and asked the bartender what year it was. The guy looked at him funny, but Harry made up a story that he somehow got bad amnesia and all he could remember was his name and D.O.B. The guy only nodded and told him the year. This is when he realized where he had landed. He had read all about Voldemort at night that whole year. He had learned many things, probably too many. He was starting to think that the hat would have been right to put him in Slytherin instead with all the things he and the Dark Lord had similar to each other. And we aren't just talking about the whole Parseltongue thing either.

Harry's next stop was to Gringotts, this way he would be able to continue going to Hogwarts. He told them the amnesia story and that his name was Harry James. And he told them his real birth date, except he changed the year, obviously. Because he was so polite and nice to the Goblins, they helped him set up a vault with money for school and living. Harry thanked them before he departed. He spent most of the summer working in the Leaky Cauldron and other various shops in Diagon Ally. When he wasn't working at the various shops, he was helping the Goblins in Gringotts. He soon got himself a flat and could basically pay for everything himself. Although, a lot of people in Diagon Ally still helped him. Harry felt really good about finally being basically normal for once. Not a freak or the savior, just Harry. Harry realized one day while working with the Goblins that he has been smiling a lot more, and more often than when he was in his own time at Hogwarts or with his relatives.

The time-turner had broken on entry, not that it mattered to Harry. He wasn't ever going back. No matter what.

He got small gifts from the people he worked for on his birthday, either a small raise or something he liked from the shop.

Once his birthday was done and over with, it seemed that the school year had sneakily yet quickly came up to him and he was heading back to Hogwarts, even though everyone thought it was his 1st year there and he had came from somewhere else.

He was ready weeks in advance, but was a bit nervous. He had already promised himself that he would not ask the hat to put him in a different house this time around. He would let the hat put him where the hat felt Harry best belonged.

 **~Later~**

I stepped through the wall and onto platform 9 3/4 like I had done it all my life and headed towards the train to board. I passed many families and groups of friends, but I didn't let it get to me. At least this time I would know people would like me for me and not for fame and fortune.

I took a deep breath and boarded the train. Since we still had 30 minutes until the train was to leave, there weren't many people already on it and it was easy to find an empty compartment in the back. I put all my stuff up with a bit of difficulty, but achieved it none the less.

Once we only had 10 minutes until departure, people started to pile in more. Soon, there was someone outside of my compartment. I looked up at them and instantly knew who it was from the books I read at school on him. His name is Tom Marvolo Riddle Jr, also known as Voldemort. Except, he's not Voldemort yet so I have no reason to be mean to him, Right? Although, I can't tell him I know what his name is. He'd be creeped out.

"Could I sit here? Everywhere else has 2 or more people." He asked, without much emotion, if any.

"Sure." I answered and gave a very light smile.

"Thanks." He mumbled before closing the compartment door and sitting down on the bench across from me. He took in my looks for a moment before asking, "Are you a first year?"

"Yes, well sort of. This will be my second year at a wizard school, but my first year at Hogwarts." I explained. He just nodded and looked out of the window. I didn't want to bother him, so I just kept to myself. I stared at my hands for a while until the lady with the trolley came by. I got an every flavored beans and a chocolate frog while Tom just stated that he didn't really like sweets all that much and went back to starring out the window.

About 5 minutes after, Tom started to talk to me again. "What's your name?" Was the first thing he asked.

"Harry, Harry James." I answered.

"Hm. Muggleborn?" Was the next thing he asked.

I shook my head. Answering as truthfully as possible but still with a bit of a lie, I answered with, "My mum was a muggleborn but my dad was a pureblood. Dad wasn't ever in the picture so I got my mum's last name. My mum was murdered when I was 7 and I've been on my own since." I said it with the most straight face I could muster, hoping he couldn't pick out the lie. "What about you?" I asked after a moment of debation in my head.

"My name's Tom, Tom Riddle. Hate the name, though. I'm a halfblood." He stated.

I nodded and said, "That's cool." I gave him a light smile. He looked a little taken back before his lips curled up in a very slight smile before he went back to looking out the window.

The rest of the ride was silent. I, unfortunately, had to ride the boats again with the real 1st years. Obviously, I had to act like I didn't remember where I had come from and stuff around Hogwarts staff, but there shouldn't be too much trouble making up stories for the students. I got onto 1 of the last boats and sat quietly on the ride towards the castle.

It was weird seeing Prof. McGonagal so young and a new teacher, heck it was weird seeing all these completely different teachers. The only staff still the same was Prof. McGonagal and Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. All the 1st years went first and I was called up last since I'm technically just a new 2nd year.

The hat had a long debate with itself. I just sat there, bored listening to him rant about how hard it was to place me.

After what felt like an hour but was probably only a few minutes, the hat finally shouted its answer. "Slytherin!"

So, even in a different time, where I don't belong, the hat still feels like I would be good in Slytherin.

I smiled a bit, got off the stool, gave the sorting hat back to Prof. McGonagal, and sat down next to Tom. My robes changed to my house like they were supposed to.

'This is going to be a long year, I can feel it...' I thought to myself as the feast started.

 **~No one~**

The 1 thing that could blow Harry's cover, is something he isn't even aware of. The fact that he still has a part of Voldemort's soul within him.

If Tom finds out, how will Harry explain? Will he be found out? Or worse, what if Dumbledore finds out? How will Harry explain it then? Well, I guess you'll find out eventually.


	2. Chapter 2: 1st Day of Classes

**~Harry~**

Once Dumbledore was done with his speech, we were allowed to eat. And let me tell you, his speech obviously never changes besides introducing new teachers. I didn't really bother to listen that well, but I could tell Tom was just as bored with the speech as I was. As soon as the food appeared on the tables, the great hall went from relatively quiet to 'you could probably hear everyone from miles away.' Not that it bothered me all that much, I was kind of used to it. Tom and I talked a little bit during the feast, but not a whole lot. He was mainly just giving me pointers and what not to do and things I could get away with. For some reason, I felt a profound amount of trust for him. He seemed way more trustworthy to me than Dumbledore ever did, or Hagrid, or Hermione, or even Ron. I felt like he'd never lie to me and I don't know why. Tom and I, however, did crack a few jokes here and there. Although, like half way through the feast, we felt eyes on us and noticed that it was Dumbledore from the corner of our eyes. Tom then explained his suspicions about Dumbledore and how Dumbledore for some reason always keeps a close eye on him. He also expressed his worry that Dumbledore was out to get him. I just nodded while he explained all this to me, not wanting to interrupt him. Although, I have to say that he's much nicer than what everyone made him out to be.

Once the feast was over, our head of house lead us to the Slytherin dormitories. To say the least, it's way more cozy and homey than I ever thought it would be. No, scratch that, it's more homely than the Gryffindor dormitories. And down here, you only share a room with one other person. I offered to share one with Tom if he didn't want to share one with anyone else and he said "Okay." So, I'm sharing a room with him now.

Ever since I've been in this new time, I haven't had any real trouble sleeping. I think it's mainly to do with knowing that I don't have to worry about Vernon coming after me cause he's not even born yet. Plus, Voldemort isn't even Voldemort yet, so nothing to worry about there. Besides, we seem to be getting along well. So well, we might even be friends or become friends.

After I got my side of the room set up how I liked it, I said goodnight to Tom who, surprisingly enough, said it back and then drifted off to sleep.

 **~No one~**

Dumbledore, Ron, Hermione, McGonagal, and Snape were all rushing around trying to find Harry. Finally, they decided to see if he used any spells to hide himself. That's when they found out that a time-turner was used. Unfortunately, they found out too late and couldn't detect in which direction of time he went or how far. They searched every data base they could, hoping he went back in time and used his real name. They didn't find anything. They were all thinking the worst. That he went so far back, they couldn't trace him. And, well, he did. But, they didn't know that for sure. Little did they know, Harry was still alive, just much older than he was at Hogwarts. He also wasn't their Golden Boy or Savior anymore. In fact, he was a nightmare to them, almost as bad as Voldemort himself.

They tried to go back and stop Harry, but they couldn't. It was a fixed point in time. They could only manage to get there right after he had left. So, instead, they focused on figuring out why he would do what he did. But, no one had any good explanations. They were utterly stuck.

 **~Harry~**

I woke up to a shower running. Surprisingly, even though it was super early in the morning, I felt somewhat refreshed. I got everything I would need for a shower and waited for Tom to finish. Once he did, I quickly hopped in the shower.

After I was done in the shower and dressed, I met Tom in the common room.

"Hey." He greeted.

"Hi." I responded with a light smile. "You ready to see our schedules for this year?" I asked as we started on our way to the great hall for breakfast.

He nodded his head slightly. "I guess."

While we were eating, our head of house came by and handed us our schedules. I was about to look at mine when I heard Tom sigh. "What is it?" I asked. He pointed at my schedule. "Oh." I stated as I started reading through it and saw that we have most of our classes with the Gryffindors. Luckily, though, we did have quite a few with the Ravenclaws, who are normally pretty quiet for the most part as they are always too busy trying to get the best marks.

 _'I guess it could be worse...'_ I thought as we walked to double DADA. _'As long as no one finds out that I'm in the wrong time, I should be good. I hope...'_


	3. Chapter 3: DADA and Potions

_A/N: I noticed one of you asked how old Harry is. When he first goes back, it was the end of his 1st year and he was 11. Now it's essentially his 2nd year and both he and Tom are 12. Just to clarify for anyone who wasn't sure. Also, thanks to whoever reminded me to change Dumbledore's position. I had actually written this a while ago not knowing he was the transfiguration teacher then forgot to change it when I came of this information. I also noticed that someone suggested I change it where Harry gets an inheritance test done and uses the last name Peverell or even Gryffindor instead but the problem with that is the goblins would then find out that he's in the wrong time. But, thanks to your suggestion, I will make it where once Harry and Tom age to the "present" time (or even just closer to it; or maybe I'll have it where the goblins ask Harry to take one when he's of age. Something like that)_ _where Harry came from, I'll have him change his last name to one of those. It's very true that not many people use those last names for Harry so I think it would add a bit more uniqueness to the story. Thanks everyone for your feedback!_

 **~Harry~**

Tom and I walked into double Potions. We were pretty early as there was almost no one else in the room besides our professor. We took up the seats in the back corner and chatted a bit while we waited for class to start. Well, it was more me doing the talking, but Tom seemed to be warming up to me quickly. At least, more quickly than I would have expected from him. Once the class was full of students, our professor started class. "Hello and welcome students to a brand new year at Hogwarts. Now, it's my understanding that we have a new student in our midst. Mr. James, would you be so kind as to introduce yourself to the class."

Standing up, I replied, "Not much to say really, Sir. My name's Harry and I came from somewhere pretty far away."

"No need to be so formal son, just call me Professor Slughorn. It's nice to make your acquaintance. Now, moving onto today's lesson..." It turns out I'm not nearly as bad as potions without Prof. Snape breathing down my neck. Tom warned me after class what the type of person Prof. Slughorn is, how he's always taking students under his wing that are from influential families in hopes they'll be greatful in return later down the road.

"Well, I'm pretty much a nobody so I'm sure he'll leave me alone." I replied soon after.

"Not necessarily Harry. I'm sure if he thinks you're a good enough student, he'd try to get into your good graces as well. You were exceptionally good in class today even though it's only your first here. Plus, he's been trying to get me to join his club since last year, I wouldn't put it too much past him to try to get to me through you. Just be careful."

"As always, Tom." With that, we headed off to DADA. We weren't as early to this class but we were still some of the first students to enter the classroom. We both took a seat as our professor came out, except now I took actual notice of the students in the room. One in particular caught my eye, a boy with mid-length bleach blonde hair that looked a lot like Draco from my time. At least, the back of him did.

Tom must have caught me staring because a moment later he startled me by saying, "Abraxas Malfoy, quite a tough cookie, much like me. Against the will of his father and mother of course. I was thinking about recruiting him for my cause, but just not yet. What do you think?"

"I think, given his high standing as a Malfoy, he'd be one of the best to recruit." I responded, not sure how else to.

"You're quite right..." Tom trailed off as the professor started class. I was a bit taken aback when we actually learned something in the class, as I was used to Prof. Quirrell first year not really teaching us anything besides about his pet iguana. As well as a few theories but no actual magic; I didn't even understand the theories well enough to get anything out of learning them anyways. Once class had ended and we were heading towards the Great Hall for lunch, I realised that, since Prof. Dumbledore was the transfiguration teacher instead, I didn't have a clue who the headmaster was in this time. I mean, I saw him during the first feast of the year but I didn't know a single thing about him; unlike Dumbledore, he didn't really give a start-of-the-year speech besides welcoming us to Hogwarts.

I was about to ask Tom who he was, but he beat me to it, "Headmaster Dippet. He's not a very 'out there' sort of headmaster but he does his job." I was shocked that Tom had known what I was about to ask. "It seems as though if I ignore all other noise around me, I can hear your thoughts..." Tom paused. "I'm not quite sure why though because I can't do it with anyone else, so don't ask." That just confused me more but I didn't push for an explanation seeing as neither of us could supply one. We tried to forget about it for now and sat together at the Slytherin table. Though, after thinking it through a bit more, while Tom was distracted talking with a few other second year Slytherins, I realised this could spell trouble for me as I came from a different time period. I just had to be careful what I thought around him when we were alone or in a mostly quiet area. I, however, hoped to shape him into a better person. From what I heard from Hagrid, Dumbledore, and Prof. McGonagal, he had murderous tendencies even at a young age. Though, I don't know much of his views at this time, yet. I had a plan to ask him about it during the coming weekend. I had, seemingly foolish, hope that I could make him change. _I better not be wrong to have such hope..._

The rest of the classes went pretty fast and soon the day was over. Tom and I took to our dormitory with work in hand from our classes. The homework and information was much understand this year as I was much more relaxed though I couldn't understand why. Having Tom Riddle, a young Voldemort, as my classmate and sharring a dorm with me should make everything more stressful. That wasn't the case, however.

 **~Dumbledore; present day~**

I could feel some of my memories change around me in accordance to Harry going back in time. _This is not good..._


End file.
